Global oil prices have long breached the $80 per barrel trigger for suspending local fuel taxes, but the government has yet to announce such a step, which is expected to reduce pump prices by at most P10 per liter.

Senator Bam Aquino rejected recent claims by a government official that removing the value-added and excise taxes on gasoline and diesel would benefit only wealthy Filipinos, saying that high fuel prices affect various sectors, including workers, small businesses, and the middle class.

“The country now needs an immediate solution for the rising prices of petroleum products that is affecting our countrymen,” Aquino, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, said in a statement sent to DAILY TRIBUNE.

Last year, fuel tax revenue collections were estimated at P247 billion.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Frederick Go said the Department of Finance was not inclined to remove the excise taxes on gasoline and diesel, citing the fiscal impact of such a move.

“If you remove the taxes on diesel and gasoline, it will not be progressive. The wealthy use the most diesel and gasoline. If we remove the taxes for everyone, the ones who would benefit the most would be the wealthy because they are the ones who use [diesel and gasoline] the most,” Go said.

Malacañang earlier said the government was taking measures to ensure that the transport sector and commuters do not suffer from the high fuel prices through cash aid under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program.

Sector that bears brunt

Aquino pointed out that thousands of drivers and operators of jeepneys, taxis, tricycles, buses, motorcycle taxis, and TNVS vehicles depend on fuel every day to earn a living and transport people to their destinations.

He also noted that many of the middle-class must rely on private vehicles because public transportation is inadequate.

“Because of the scarcity of public transportation, our middle-class citizens have to use private cars to reach their destinations, mainly their workplaces,” he pointed out.

Aquino also said that farmers and fisherfolk rely on petroleum to operate farm and fishing equipment and to transport their produce and catch to market.

He added that small businesses and online sellers also incur fuel costs for deliveries, logistics and day-to-day operations.

“Let us ease the burden of Filipino families because they cannot bear it anymore. The removal of the fuel excise tax and VAT means a lot to our citizens,” he said.

Aquino said the government should use the authority granted by Congress to suspend the collection of excise tax on fuel, saying that Republic Act 12316 empowers the President to suspend or reduce the excise tax on fuel when the average price of Dubai crude oil reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel for one month.